Utilities capture valuable field data daily through maintenance logs, outage tickets, and technician notes. Yet much of this information is unstructured, inconsistent, and difficult to analyze. As a result:
Operators spend hours manually reviewing tickets.
Repeated issues go unnoticed.
Knowledge from experienced technicians is often lost.
Opportunities for predictive maintenance are missed.
Embedding GenAI at the Point of Entry
Generative AI (GenAI), powered by large language models (LLM's), can unlock hidden value from field data. Its impact is greatest when embedded directly into apps, ticketing systems, and tools technicians already use.
How It Works in Practice
Guided Data Entry: Prompts technicians to add detailed information to identify root cause and use standardized terminology.
Voice-to-Structured Text: Converts speech into structured, searchable entries tagged with asset type, fault, and severity.
Embedded Summaries: Generates concise, standardized ticket summaries for technicians review.
Knowledge Codification: Maps shorthand (“CB flash”) to standardized terms (“circuit breaker flashover”), building a shared knowledge base.
Turning Data into Actionable Insights
With clean, structured data in place, GenAI can:
Accelerate root cause analysis by correlating recurring failure patterns.
Automate summarization of thousands of tickets into trend reports.
Enable predictive maintenance by combining logs with sensor and weather data.
Support risk-based replacement decisions for prioritizing asset upgrades.
Optimize resource planning, from dispatch to vegetation management.
The Payoff: Smarter, More Reliable Grid Operations
Embedding GenAI creates a closed loop of improvement:
Better Input → Cleaner, structured data
Smarter Analysis → Predictive insights and automated reporting
Faster Action → Guided work orders, optimized dispatch, proactive planning
Tangible Benefits
Fewer outages through predictive maintenance
Faster, more accurate field operations
Preservation and transfer of institutional knowledge
Smarter capital and resource planning
Generative AI transforms maintenance data from a burden into a strategic asset—helping utilities deliver a more reliable, efficient, and resilient grid.